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First responders pilot training program to treat patients with dementia

The program aims to inform first responders about the unique challenges of people with dementia and teach strategies to effectively communicate with those patients.

YORK, Pa. — York County first responders attended a pilot program on April 5 that aimed to teach them how to best serve patients living with dementia.

The program, the first of its kind in the county, included 10 participants from multiple York County agencies.

The program aims to inform first responders about the unique challenges that people with dementia face and teach strategies to effectively communicate with those patients.

“Dementia care education is needed. Dementia care awareness is so needed,” said Tina Hess of the Dementia Friendly Initiative of York/Adams County. Hess helped organize the training.

People living with dementia can have problems with memory and thinking skills, sometimes leading to confusion and anxiety.

To simulate the experience of being older and living with dementia, training participants put on specialized equipment, like gloves that restrict finger movement, glasses that obscure vision, shoe inserts to simulate neuropathy and headphones that combine confusing sounds.

Trainees also learned communication strategies such as speaking clearly and directly.

EMT Tony Pandoli of First Capital EMS said he answers calls daily from dementia patients or their families. Though he already has lots of experience in the field, he said the training would change how he approaches those patients.

“It’s how to speak with them, how to interact with them better, not just assuming that they don’t know what they’re talking about,” Pandoli said. “We can interact with them better and they’re going to trust us more.”

Different county agencies can apply the training in different ways. Katherine Gruver, a supervisor at York County Probation Department, plans to take a bigger look at county programs that could be better tailored for people living with dementia.

“What other housing or initiatives can we bring so that when we have an interaction with an older individual, how can we help them moving forward?” Gruver said.

Organizers of the training said there is already a wait list for future trainings. They hope to hold more in the future with other area first responders.

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